I'm back!

Hi everyone! It's Heather, and I'm back from my month long break with a sketch and template to share. As always, please feel free to right click on the image below to save the sketch for later use.

This is the page I made that inspired this template and sketch. I used my October Scraptastic Club kit and add on called "Witching Hour".

Here's a closer look at some of the smaller details. The bats were a .svg file from Echo Park's Apothecary collection.

If you're a digital scrapbooker, you can download the layered .psd file that I created in Photoshop Elements by clicking the link below.

http://www.4shared.com/file/5q4aJtKS/HL_Sketch_Template3.html

Don't forget to send the pages you complete with the sketch and template to Pam so she can feature them here on the Ideas For Scrapbookers blog!

A new template and sketch!

I have a new template and sketch to share today. A friend of mine, Kathy, has nine grandchildren and occasionally shares really fun photos. So today's layout features 4 of those great grandkids. Here's my layout titled "All Aboard."

I love the bright colors of these papers and the good contrast of the elements.  This digital page was created with a beautiful kit by Jennifer Labre called "Full of Life."  For our paper scrapbookers here is the sketch.

And for our digi scrapbookers the PhotoShop template can be downloaded from one of the two file sharing sites below.  Hope you enjoy it!

4Shared: ds-all-aboard-template

MediaFire:  ds-all-aboard-template



Step Out of Your Comfort Zone - Pt 3

Stepping out of your comfort zone can be challenging but the outcome is usually better than you expected! The last two weeks I have shared how I stepped out of my comfort zone, please refer back to post 1 and post 2 if you like! I am sharing how a few of the blog contributors have stepped out of their comfort zones as well!

Vicky challenged herself to try a new style here. Usually she has distressing and lots of shabby chic colors. This is what she has to say about her page, "(this layout) is dark, dramatic and simple without any distressing  - still vintage but so opposite from my regular pastels and shabby chic."  This turned out dramatic and beautiful, don't ya think!

Nancy also stepped out of her comfort zone by altering a her style a bit. This is what Nancy had to say about how she changed up her style,  "This one is really out of my usual.  But I had fun doing it.  While I love playing with mists, this one just isn't my usual style.  No patterned paper, very flat.  But I loved the photo and thought it would be tons of fun to try something different." Her page turned out to be great and goes so well with the photos she chose.

Heather is next showing us how she changed her page to create this next page. Heather said this about how she created it, "This is my out of my comfort zone page. I went out of my comfort zone when I created it because I usually design with very bright colors and I don't often use flowers as a design feature. I also don't normally use Glimmer Mist on my pages because of the possible mess potential. (I'm a klutz! LOL) It's much more feminine than my usual pages." This page turned out so pretty, check it below to see the outcome.

Cathy is sharing three pages on how she stepped out of her comfort zone. As you will see they are all quite different but turned out very creative ;). On her first page called Legacy Christmas Cathy said, "I used pattered paper as my main background. I'm usually a plain paper in the background person." Let's see her example of this.

On Cathy's next page, she shares how she used negative space! She said this about her page,"It was my first time to try working with a large photo and lots of white space.  BTW - that is a poem (or attempt at one) that I wrote many years ago, for my son." This turned out beautiful and just right for her photo!

On Cathy's last page she stepped out of her comfort zone and explained it this way, "I used a series of photos that I combined into a panoramic in Photoshop." The results are a gorgeous winter wonderland!!

I am still looking for reader's pages that share stepping out of your comfort zone! I would LOVE to feature your pages and blog on IFS. Send me your page, how you stepped out of your comfort zone and links to your blog/gallery or anything else you like to scrappingpam73@yahoo.com

Reader's Page

Happy Thursday! I hope your week is going by fast! Today I am sharing a great example of turning a template into a sketch for your page.  Sometimes it may be hard to go from a digital image to a paper image but Patricia shows us how she did it!

Patricia used the Eight Circles Page Template as her inspiration. You can download the template here. 

Here is Patricia's page where she took the idea of the circle, and also used cool outlines on her circles. You can also see she used ornamental snowflake images on her page, so pretty.  Patricia also chose not to use a scalloped background, which a cool alternative as well and gives a nice shape to her page!  The gold snowflakes also provide a nice eye-catching touch.

Thanks Patricia for sharing beautiful page!! Make sure you visit her blog here at: http://generationsscrap.canalblog.com/ .


IFS is LOOKING FOR YOU PAGES!! We always love to feature readers pages and honored to share them on the blog. Have you used any idea from the blog, template, tutorial or an example from the designer showcase? Please send me an email at scrappingpam73@yahoo.com and I will feature your page! Have a wonderful day :)

Designer Showcase: Funny Pages

Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't wait for the Sunday paper to come so you could read the funny pages?  OK, so maybe you still read the funny pages first!  :-)  Today we are going to entertain you and inspire you!  Sit back while we take you through some Designer Showcase "Funny Pages"

Let's start with this page by Vicky.  That adorable photo is sure to bring a smile to your face. And then when you read the simple, poignant title "The Pout", a chuckle just slips right out!  Oh my gosh!  Do all kids have a look that just gets you?  What a great idea to capture it and scrap it!  I really like the umbrella handle made from pearls, so creative!

The title on Cindy's page has me in a rolling laugh!  Sure he's got a "winning smile" ... but look more closely, it says "Above that Winning Smile is Hair with a Mind of it's own"!!! How very cute.  She has captured how her son's hair starts out looking great in the morning, but then gets messy as the day goes on!  Great way to take an every day occurrence and make a memory that will last.

In this one Cindy has captured another every day moment. He son and his near obsession with safety glasses.  He certainly doesn't need to wear safety glasses for these jobs, but he sure is prepared.  These everyday moments can go by so quickly, what a great thing to have to look back on.

LOL!!  How cute is this idea?  Cindy created a page with a translation of things her son's says.  She lists them in a column comparing "Trevorisms" to "English".  This has me cracking up!  And wishing I had done this when my kids were younger!  Quick!  Do it while you still have time!!

Check out Nancy's page.  Looks shabby and chic and gorgeous. Then you take a look at the photos!  The kids are having a bunch of fun!  Great silly pictures and wonderful natural smiles.  Maybe this is the way to get a good picture of a reluctant participant in your house!

Heather has captured what she hopes will not be an everyday event in her house!  He daughter climbing on the TV stand!  She caught her in the act on film and scrapped it!  I love the title!  When you read it, don't you get that sing-song sound in your voice?  LOL

This layout by Heather looks like it belongs in the funny pages! I'm really loving the cartoon treatment she gave her photos. That just really adds to the fun on this page!  Then you read the journaling all about him plotting to soak his sister with the water hose!  Complete with evil laugh!!!  I'm laughing out loud already, but then wait, you read about the girls plotting to get back at the brother!  Now I'm rolling on the floor laughing!  What a great way to create a memory out of a simple everyday type moment!!!

OK, my stomach hurts from all this laughter!  I hope you've been entertained too!  We want to hear from you!  Leave us a comment about something funny that you scrapped. Or better yet, send us your funny pages and we'll feature you in an upcoming Readers Pages post!  You can email them to scrappycath@gmail.com

Dealing with a Missing Letter

Is there anything more frustrating than planning a title, pulling out the perfect chipboard letters or alphabet stickers and being short one little letter?  I hate that!  Of course, there are many ways around the problem.  Here are some of the solutions I use the most often.

Trim letters:  In just about any font, u and n can substitute for each other.  M and W are natural substitutions, as are b, d, p, and q.  With a little snip, it's easy to make the letter c from an a, b, d, e, g, o, p, or q.  The letter t can become an f.  In this layout, the u is an upside-down n and the lowercase y is actually an uppercase X.

Stamp the missing letters:  If I can't spell all the words of a multi-word title, I stamp the words with the missing letters. 

Mix fonts or colors:  On a whimsical page, I'll mix fonts and/or colors in the title words.  Here I used a variety of colors in similar fonts to echo the colors of the party.  (Also, notice that the two p's aren't quite the same.  The 2nd is an inverted d.)

Trace the letters:  If I'm short a letter because my title uses that letter more than once, I trace the chipboard.  In this example, I had an e, g, and s, but not a second g.  I traced the letters for a uniform title and can now use the chipboard letters on a future project.

Use the negative:  I never throw out the negatives from an alphabet set.  They can be used as stencils or to fill in for a missing letter.  They work especially well as the first letter in a title.

Use a button, flower or themed shape for the missing letter: Here I had all the letters except an o.  Because it hit 100° during the trip, a sun was a natural stand-in for the missing letter.

What other tricks do you use to deal with a missing letter?  Please share your tips!

Decoupage a Pumpkin

I saw this neat idea in a magazine. To decoupage a pumpkin!  I thought it would be a really cool thing to do using scrapping and craft materials.

Yep, you read that right. I decoupaged a pumpkin!  OK, so no, it is not a "real" pumpkin. It is one of those craft pumpkins. Which is even better, cause this baby will last way past when all the Halloween candy has been eaten!

As I said, this was not completely my idea.  I saw this on the cover of Country Living magazine.  But I decided to take it hybrid and kick it up a few notches!

I used papers from a digital kit.  Which was great, I could print out as many copies as I needed. I printed them onto cover card stock paper.  I have an ink jet printer and this worked well for me. I let the papers dry thoroughly after printing.

I cut the papers into strip of varying sizes, between .5 inch and .75 inch wide. I decoupaged the papers on to the pumpkin. Working on half the pumpkin at a time and allowing it to dry. Once all the paper was adhered,  I   then sprinkled glitter as I added thin layers of the sealant.  I also sprinkled some gold embossing powder and heated it up. Oh it's so pretty up close. Wanna peak?

The glittery stuff never shows up as well in my photos.  I also took a part a Fall floral bunch and adhered them at the stem, placed a rhinestone flourish and added a few paper roses.  This is definitely not a scary pumpkin! I was surprised that my guys actually like it!  They usually go for the blood and guts Halloween decor.

Now I've got a pretty decoration that can last through the Autumn holidays.  I hope this inspires you to give it a try too!